Displaying news from 1 January 2007 to 1 February 2007.
state of the rostrum - Posted on 2007-01-24 09:59:00
the word rostrum (latin for 'beak' or 'prow', used with regard to the platform a speaker stands on while giving a speech - the most famous of which is the 'rostra' in the roman forum) doesn't come up all that often. i first heard of it while searching for anagrams of various phrases for use in my senior recital program notes. many were discovered using the classic 'strain-the-brain' method, but several of the longer phrases were put to the test using an online program i found known as the internet anagram server (check it out, it's pretty awesome). one of the phrases that it spit out was johnnie s. rostrum (an anagram of 'josh simon rutner'), and the rostrum/rutner connection was born...
so cut to this morning when i printed and began to read the transcript of our president's state of the union address, and lo! there the word lay, right in paragraph two:
"In his day, the late Congressman Thomas D'Alesandro, Jr. from Baltimore, Maryland, saw Presidents Roosevelt and Truman at this rostrum."
then it occurred to me: didn't i remember the same feeling of shock hearing our president (linguistacularly ill-adept as he is) shining that same word in the eyes of all those plain-spoken americans in his address last year? in a similarly bold, early paragraph placement, no less? i searched for the text of his previous SOTU speech, and in the process found an incredibly pertinent 'interactive graphic' from the new york times website. it allows you to search for any word used in any of bush's states of the unions, its frequency and its placement. incredible!
certain words get several hits every year (popular words like 'america' 'iraq' and 'terror' get anywhere from 20-60 uses per speech). rostrum, as i suspected, has popped up in SOTUs past, appearing one time each in 3 states of the union. last year's appearance occurred in the same paragraph (the 2nd); the introduction of the word into his 'state of vocabulary' during his 2004 address was a little bit more subtle, then appearing in paragraph 23 of 70:
"When I came to this rostrum on September the 20th, 2001, I brought the police shield of a fallen officer..."
check out this neat tool on the ny times website here.
so great - Posted on 2007-01-22 22:06:00
oh man, you have to check this out. i found this tune "pretty world" (originally performed by sergio mendes and brasil '66) on a live stevie record called "live" from 1970 (it's available on itunes under the "complete stevie wonder" set).
then i found this version as a duet with dianne carroll. i've never seen two people so sincerely happy singing with each other (nor have i seen such hilarious and gratuitous groping!). incredible. i can listen to that big modulation near the end a thousand and one times without flinching. on this version in particular, check out how stevie yells/sings "stop it!" when dianne keeps trying to crack him up - perfect.
lick of the week - Posted on 2007-01-15 02:10:05
hey saxophonistas! don't get caught without having investigated and internalized the sax shed's lick of the week!
Michael Brecker; Dead at 57... - Posted on 2007-01-15 01:47:00
after two years of living with mds and then leukemia, this past saturday, michael brecker died.
i remember being very young and borrowing the cassette of don't try this at home from the penfield public library (the cover art of him balancing a tenor on his index finger remains ingrained in the brain to this day), memorizing every bit of information, obsessed, really.
dave pope introduced me to a lot of brecker's work, in particular, original rays, a tune ted poor and i couldn't get enough of for the majority of our freshman year of college.
most recently, i've been totally enthralled with this clip of michael playing in a sentimental mood on the EWI: check it out; it's some of the most expressive playing i've ever heard on an electronic instrument.
a terrible loss of a marvelous player.
give us your ted, your poor (and make it flashy) - Posted on 2007-01-10 12:13:00
that guy has gone without for far too long and has now warmed the hearts of many who before relied only on their instincts, words of mouth, and other people's websites, to figure out where ted was playing.
i met ted when we were wee youths ("WWWWY" for you roman numerologists); he, a dapper and precocious farmer boy, myself, a fire-eating circus performer. times, they were tough. in high school, we managed to get together a few times (including some fabled sessions with malcolm "the urban cowboy" kirby) to perform some of the hits of the day, including but not limited to "your eye is like an alabaster lug nut," "those were the days, my friend," "aint' no time like the present time ('cause the present time contains parties that don't stop)," and "snowy peaks of mountain dew."
theodore and i joined forced once again whilst gristing our musical mills at the prestigious eastman school of music (both graduating at the edge of our class - improbatur, egregia cum laude), located mere miles from the farm of his youth, and the tent of mine. a weekly engagement at a local watering hole kept us financially afloat for several years (combined with the bread and sugar rations from the university canteen, we lived like princes!), and we eventually found our way out of rochester, and hitchhiked down south. then we moved to new york.
ted and i still see each other once in a while, often playing music with our calliopes, relaxing by the pool, or protesting the system, and its discontents.
as i'm playing tonight with the andre canniere group, i thought it might be nice to post a pair of reviews that have appeared in the last few months of andre's record As Of Yet (available, as yet, on his website and iTunes). to listen to some tracks, check out dre's own audio page as well as his myspace page; enjoy!
Trumpeter Andre Canniere is yet another one of New York City’s young musicians who seeks to make music that not only draws on the worlds of Jazz, but also of Rock and elsewhere. While a member of several ensembles, Canniere takes his solo bow on As of Yet, a mix of four compositions performed in the studio, as well as three live “bonus” tracks that take the sheen out of two studio tracks and add a new tune. A look at Canniere’s bio and one can tell that the music contained here will likely reach beyond the traditional, citing influences that range from Maria Schneider to Wayne Shorter to Pat Metheny to Stravinsky to Jeff Buckley (you get the picture). With such signposts, the compositions are a far cry from the staid template contained on many Jazz records. Instead Canniere prefers to challenge his ensemble (all friends and 2003 graduates of the Eastman School of Music) to maximize the harmonic drama and consistently shifting rhythmic sequences. But it is the solo spaces that offer the most exciting moments, particularly the clean toned Canniere, as well as tenor saxophonist Josh Rutner, who is sure to follow in the footsteps of players like Chris Potter and Donny McCaslin, as well as guitarist Ryan Ferreira.
Although not specifically cited as an influence, several tracks bear the markings of writing that could have emerged from the pen of saxophonist Dave Binney, especially the lyrically sweet touches of “As Of Yet.” Following on the heels of the opener are the Blues-tinged “Bridges,” and the funky, yet incandescent rhythms of “Accelerated Decrepitude” that sounds like a mix of John Scofield’s “Picks And Pans” and funky Latin shadings. As for the latter, it is a vivid workout for the bustling rhythm section of bassist Ike Sturm and the increasingly in-demand drumming of Ted Poor, certainly the hidden force behind this date. As for the final cuts of the studio piece, the quintet glistens on the lovely ballad, “The Rest,” a forlorn piece that thrives on its countryish tones.
Perhaps the only minor complaint that can be levied at this session is that the studio atmosphere tends to foster a restrained sensibility that makes the more optimistic themes sound somewhat lightweight. While the live tracks are sonically distracting and almost seem tacked-on, they do present the group in a looser setting, one that fosters a heightened interactive state. The minimized polish on “As Of Yet” and “Accelerated Decrepitude” are enlightening, though the knotty “Thirteenth Species” is the high point. Featuring a driving rhythmic base, Rutner’s inspired solo over the tense rhythmic vamp, followed closely by Canniere’s own zealous ruminations presents, shows the group at its best.
Andre Canniere and his associates show a great deal of promise on this debut, particularly due to the compositional aspirations, as well as Rutner, Canniere and Ferreira’s improvisational work.
-Jay Collins, Cadence Magazine, October 2006
___
Trumpeter André Canniere's debut is aural evidence that good things can descend from the Ivory Tower. Every one of the players on As of Yet is an Eastman School of Music grad (Canniere in 2003), but they transcend the typical stereotypes often associated with university-trained musicians, the most common being that they “think” the music, rather than “feel” it. As this album shows, much of what used to be considered academic music has now been assimilated by a new generation of musicians who are as comfortable on the fringes as they are in the pocket. (In the interest of full disclosure, I've known several of these players for years.)
The recording opens with the title track, a slowly building collection of intricate melodies over a rock-solid bass line from Ike Sturm. Canniere and saxophonist Josh Rutner step into the ring to bob and weave around each other as the piece builds to a climax. The loose but intricate tune would be quite at home on a Dave Douglas or Ben Allison record.
Rutner opens “Bridges” in Brecker-Berg style—an aspect of his playing that's come out more in his Latin work than in his main band, The Respect Sextet. The loping gospel melody is propelled by the rolling drums of Ted Poor, who's been making a name for himself over the past few years in a trio led by trumpeter Cuong Vu.
“Accelerated Decrepitude” has a Balkan-influenced melody that leads into strong trumpet work from Canniere. Guitarist Ryan Ferreira opens the piece with long attack-less tones, then switches to pointed comping under the solos.
One programmatic issue with the record is a preponderance of slow, airy tunes. After the opening two tracks, the disc could probably have done without “The Rest,” another slow creeper. Cutting it, though, would mean doing without Ferreira's pointillistic and lovely guitar solo. It's not surprising that Ferreira is Canniere's guitarist of choice, given the trumpeter's previous work with Ben Monder, another guitarist who works wonders with wide-open spaces.
The CD closes with three live tracks of better-than-bootleg quality recorded at various New York City clubs in 2005. Ryan Ferreira mutates into a different creature on ”Thirteenth Species.” Gone is the Frisell sound and Mack truck-sized space between each note, replaced by a driving fuzz chop that propels Rutner to screaming heights. Then the music takes another left turn and Poor and Ferreira start a monstrous Metallica march behind Canniere's solo. Heady stuff. Live versions of “As of Yet” and “Accelerated Decrepitude” close the recording.
Despite a few more slow spots than necessary, As of Yet is a strong opening statement from Canniere, who has immersed himself in the New York scene with everyone from Maria Schneider and Donny McCaslin to the Westchester Chamber Orchestra and the New York Repertory Orchestra. His debut gives listeners a reason to wait at the bottom of the Ivory Tower to see what else might come down from the hallowed halls of academia.
-Jason Crane, All About Jazz , July 2006
newness. - Posted on 2007-01-01 23:30:00
after a successful tour by the respect sextet, we're gearing up for the recording of our new album (our first studio record since The Full Respect in 2003), Sirius Respect, wherein the music of Sun Ra & Karlheinz Stockhausen will be explored through respect-colored glasses. a truly remarkable feat, i remark.
stay tuned for more information on the new release!
